


Inspire Laughter

by Diary



Category: Black Panther (Movies), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Acts of Kindness, Adult Shuri (Marvel), Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Bechdel Test Pass, Canon Character of Color, Canon Crossover, Canon Divergence - Post-Avengers (2012), E-mail, Existential Angst, Families of Choice, Feels, Friendship/Love, Grief/Mourning, Late Night Conversations, Literal Sleeping Together, Mental Health Issues, Morally Ambiguous Character, Not Avengers: Endgame (Movie) Compliant, Other: See Story Notes, POV Everett Ross, POV Male Character, Queen Shuri (Marvel), Sharing a Bed
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-01
Updated: 2018-11-01
Packaged: 2019-08-14 09:31:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,008
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16490060
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Diary/pseuds/Diary
Summary: An AU look at Ross and Shuri meeting after Infinity War. Complete.





	Inspire Laughter

**Author's Note:**

> I do not own anything in Marvel.

Everett Ross been assigned to go to Russia before the news broke Queen Shuri would be personally attending a U.N. convention for the first time after Thantos’s strike.

“Ma’am, I’m not protesting my new assignment, but if this decision is based on a belief I can help the US’s diplomatic relations with them, I don’t think I can. King T’Challa had a certain respect and affection for me. Aside from then teenage Princess Shuri, he was the only one.”

“This isn’t about them having good feelings about you or America,” Director Hunt says. “It’s about having someone in there with good feelings towards them. The man you, unfortunately, share a surname with is semi-courting all the lunatics out there, including the xenophobic white supremacists who are chanting about Adolf Hitler’s soul guiding the way for his grand Aryan vision. He’s been itching to invade Wakanda for their tech.”

Director Hunt will never refer to the current President by his proper title of address, and as much as he understands this, he still worries for her job security over it.

Despite the genuine sympathy he has for the man losing his daughter, granddaughter, and son-in-law (though, apparently, neither his daughter nor said son-in-law wanted anything to do with him, and he saw his granddaughter maybe four times before Thantos’s strike), he’ll privately agree the President’s xenophobic policies might well end up just as badly as she fears.

“Yes, ma’am. I’ll have my tux ready.”

…

The first thing he notices is Okoye isn’t among the Dora Milaje.

Oh, God, he thinks with a weary pang.

There’s a small chance she’s watching from a place deemed more strategic, and he hopes this is the case. She wasn’t taken by Thantos’s strike, and short of her being dead, he can’t think of a circumstance in which she’d let Shuri go to America without her.

Taking a breath, he pushes the thoughts away.

Shuri’s become a beautiful young woman, but the lack of happy, mischievous playfulness is painful to see.

She spots him, but before he can take in her reaction, a waiter passes by, and then, she’s turned to talk to one of the Dora Milaje.

Soon enough, the speeches begin, and he’s not surprised when she gives a dignified, by-the-numbers speech. It hits him how much he’s been missing her sarcastic defiance (most of the people he encounters this in are criminals who want to do horrible things to his country and/or its leaders), but at the same time, he feels a little easier about Wakanda’s future. If she can play the game, she might be able to be as ruthless as necessary if-

Well, hopefully, the President isn’t going to do anything to make them someone she might need to be ruthless against. He’ll die defending his country, and he’ll kill good women and men, if he absolutely must, but all that might be his breaking point. After Thantos’s strike, he obtained an unregistered handgun, and he’s never opened his safe after putting it and the bullets in, but he knew, once he bought it, he’d committed to potentially taking an action he once judged others harshly for even considering.

After the speeches, everyone begins mingling, and he orders a seltzer water with a twist of lemon.

“Agent Ross.”

Turning, he bows. “Queen Shuri.”

Motioning for the Dora Milaje to stay, she comes over. “It’s good to see a familiar face.”

He nods. “I was sorry to hear about your mother, your highness.”

A sad smile crosses her face. “Perhaps, she is with my brother and father. It comes to a point where, no matter how strong the spirit, the body can only handle so much grief. Did Thantos take anyone from you?”

“No one close to me.”

His baby cousin is being raised by her godmother. Her mother died when she was still a baby, and her father and godfather were victims of the strike. Sometimes, he feels guilty, but aside from sending money, what can he do, really? She lives in a different country, he and her father weren’t particularly close, and he’s not going to give up his job to go live near her. Her godmother is a good woman.

If she weren’t, he would try to dispute custody, but this would cause its own set of problems. He’s not father-material, and he especially wouldn’t be to an orphaned little girl.

“That aunt in the Klan I told you about, I think she might have been one.”

One of the Dora Milaje shifts slightly at this, and he hopes this means certain parts of Wakanda has been made aware of the KKK’s existence.

“You must be incredibly grief-stricken,” she wryly comments.

“Oh, yes, devastated.” He takes a sip of his drink. “If there’s any chance of the people taken still being alive somewhere, I do really hope she’s not among them. I’m not sure what this says about Thantos, but it seems women, people of colour, and the disabled were disproportionately among those to be taken out by his strike.”

“Yes, we’ve come to the same conclusion. And so, it appears, have those who share her feelings.”

“Unfortunately.” He manages not to sigh.

Chuckling slightly, she plucks his drink away, and all he can get out is, “That’s-”, before she’s making a face.

One of the Dora Milaje scolds her in Xhosa, but waving the words away, she hands him the glass back. “If you’ll excuse me, Agent Ross, I’m going to get a drink that actually has a decent taste.”

He bows. “Your highness.”

…

At breakfast, Shuri sits down at his table, and before he can say anything, she announces, “I’ve accepted an invitation from your Vice-President to attend her daughter’s birthday next month. Tony Stark’s going to stay in New York, but he’s offered me use of his D.C. house.”

“It’s nice of you to accept the invitation, your highness.” He gestures to his plate.

Ignoring the visible discomfort and disapproval of the standing Dora Milaje, she begins eating his eggs. “Luckily, disproportionate doesn’t mean all. I thought you preferred coddled eggs.”

“I do, but to be perfectly frank, your highness, I wouldn’t put it past you to somehow contract salmonella.”

She laughs. “It truly is good to see you, Ross.”

He hesitates. “Is- I notice I haven’t seen General Okoye once.”

“She’s in Wakanda. There’s a new baby in her family. I’m godmother, and after much arguing, she was assured Ayo could and would handle my safety. I want her to ensure my godchild is well while I’m gone.”

Unable to help it, he lets out a sigh of relief.

“Your government is going to insist I have American escorts during my trip. I understand if it can’t be you, but I’d like you to have a say in who these escorts are.” Twirling her fork around, she says, “You were my brother’s friend.”

“Of course, Sh- Queen Shuri.”

Breaking off a piece of bacon, she makes a face when she takes a bite. “I’m going to get some properly cooked food.”

“Not everyone likes their bacon crispy to the point it crumbles at the touch.”

“Yes, but most people would worry about salmonella for themselves.” Standing, she grabs his orange juice.

“That has seltzer water and lemon juice in it.”

She hands it back.

…

“Do we bow,” the junior agent asks.

His name is Dylan Grant, and Everett doesn’t particularly have anything against the boy. It’s just- well, at twenty, he’s still very much a boy. If not for Thantos’s strike, he wouldn’t have been accepted into the company at this point in his life. He’s got potential, but his acceptance was based on desperation for warm bodies, and it’s come to a time when biddable personalities are viewed much more favourably.

Director Hunt didn’t hire him. She, however, has taken an interest in his well-being, and this means Everett is often stuck playing babysitter.

“It’s not required. Just remember, Queen Shuri sometimes has an interesting sense of humour. Be careful in how you react to it.”

The plane starts to land.

When they get out, Shuri and the Dora Milaje, including Okoye, are waiting in the throne room.

“Welcome, Agent Ross.”

Bowing, he withdraws the gift from his pocket. “Queen Shuri, thank you for allowing us entrance into Wakanda. On behalf of the United States of America, I’d like to present you with this token of affection and goodwill from the White House.”

There might come a time he’s taken to task for not using the President’s proper form of address, but unlike Director Hunt, he will use it when he feels it’s appropriate. In this case, most likely, the VP’s daughter was the one who suggested the gift, and the VP was the one who had it prepared and sent to them for delivery. The only possible contribution the President provided was not vetoing the idea.

Moving forward, Okoye takes the package and hands it off to another of the Dora Milaje. In Xhosa, she says, “I know you’ve become more fluent in our language. If anything happens to my Queen, I will hunt you down.”

Responding in Xhosa, he says, “I assure you, General Okoye, Queen Shuri’s safety is of the utmost importance to me. I’ll protect her with my life, if need be.”

Giving a sharp nod, she takes a step back.

“Alright. Okoye, take care of my godchild. I’ll call for bedtime tonight,” Shuri says.

The two embrace. “Yes, my Queen.” Okoye salutes. “Wakanda forever.”

Shuri returns the salute. “Wakanda forever.” Then, turning, she studies Dylan. “Hello, new agent. Hopefully, Ross will look out for you, as well. You’re the first non-broken white man to ever set foot here. Let’s keep it that way, shall we?”

“Um-” Dylan bows. “Your grace.”

“Highness,” he corrects.

Shuri waves her hand. “Either or none is fine. What’s your name, new agent?”

“Special Agent Dylan Augustine Grant, ma’am.”

“Show me to my seat, Agent Grant.”

The Dora Milaje follow, and Okoye grabs him.

“I have a sincere respect and fondness for your Queen,” he quietly says. “Just as I did for her brother.”

“There might come a day that’s not enough. Nakia sees the best in you, too. I did my best for King T’Challa, and if there’s ever any chance of bringing him back, I would take it without hesitation. But there’s a good chance he will never return. The Queen mother is dead. All there is left is Shuri. Everything you did in the past won’t matter if your country becomes an enemy of ours.”

He can’t help but chuckle. “You’re right, general. There might come a day. But as an agent to a soldier, I promise you that today is not that day.”

She moves back. “Safe travels for you and my Queen, Agent Ross.”

…

After Shuri and the others are settled in Washington, he goes back to his apartment in Maryland.

There’s no conclusive proof, but if the quality of current shows and movies are any indication, Thantos took a good chunk of the Earth’s most creative people away.

Thankfully, his favourite author is still around, and if anything the strike has propelled even more wonderful books.

A knock on the door makes him sit up, but before he can get his gun, a sense of deja vu overtakes him.

One look through the peephole confirms it: Just as she did when she was seventeen, Shuri has shown up unannounced and uninvited. The only real differences are: She’s now an adult Queen, and she’s brought Ayo along with her.

He opens the door.

“Don’t bow,” she orders. “May we come in, Agent Ross?”

“Of course. If you and your- if you and Ayo are staying, I put clean sheets on my bed this morning, but I can wash my other set if you’d prefer. I only have one bed, but I think I have a sleeping bag I can sleep-”

“Ayo will sleep with me.”

Thank goodness, he thinks.

He’s not sure he does have a sleeping bag, but there’s a 24/7 hour convenience store that sells them, and if he had to, he’d make an excuse to go buy one and smuggle it in.

“Why would you need to change the sheets,” Ayo suspiciously inquires.

“It’s typically a polite thing in America to put on fresh sheets if a person who isn’t family or a close loved one will be sleeping on your bed,” Shuri explains. “And that won’t be necessary in this case.”

“Help yourself with whatever’s in the fridge. Same as last time: If you order out, you’re paying for it.”

“I’ll go get food for us, my Queen.”

“Thank you, Ayo. Agent Ross, would you like anything?”

“I’ve already eaten, thank you. Uh, here.” Taking his key off his keyring, he offers it to Ayo. “Key to the apartment.”

…

Once she’s changed into pyjamas, Shuri joins him on the couch. “Do you believe they’re all dead?”

“I honestly don’t know what to think or believe.”

“The council is urging me to marry,” she quietly says. “To have a baby soon. I understand why. I’m the last of the direct bloodline. No longer a child, I’m the present, not the future.”

He feels a strong sense of pity. Yes, she is, but at the same time, she’s still so incredibly young. She’s already lost precious years she could have been free and happy, working in her lab, teasing her big brother, spending time with her mother, and all too soon- she’ll be the age he is now. Maybe there will be another member of the royal family or more, little boys or girls, but how soon will it be until their youth is gone, too? Especially in this world.

“How do you feel about this?”

“I used to imagine I’d want to get married someday. I’ve never been sure about having children. I thought, if I found a person I wanted to marry, we’d decide together then. Now, if I must, I will, but I don’t to marry someone under these circumstances. Even if I like and respect them, I’m not sure love, being in love, will come. I don’t want to have a baby in these circumstances.”

She lets out a bitter laugh. “The world goes on, and we must try to change it. But I don’t want any children of mine, my brother’s nieces or nephews, my mother and father’s grandchildren brought into this one. As much as I love her, I worry so much about my goddaughter.”

“I wish I could do something to help you,” he says. “All I can do is say: I might not fully understand, but to some extent, I understand how you feel. I have a cousin. More like a niece. Her father’s my cousin, and he- he was taken in the strike. We talked on the phone occasionally, but we weren’t really close.”

“I’ve never even met her in person, only talked to her a handful of times, but whenever I think about her, I worry. I wish this world she’s growing up in was very different.”

Squeezing his hand, she takes a breath. “If I weren’t Queen, I would not tolerate your President.”

He laughs. “I understand exactly how you feel.”

She smiles. “Our intelligence has shown he’s not exactly popular. What exactly happened to your apoliticalism, Ross?”

“A man who never should have been near the presidency is now President. I wasn’t exactly fond of our last President, but I wish to God, Thantos hadn’t taken Vice-President Church. This one is good at her job, and she’s more qualified than her boss, but she doesn’t exactly have the necessary experience.”

“Neither did I,” she comments. “In many ways, I still don’t. I like her daughter. She’s easy to make laugh.”

“It’s easy for you to make anyone laugh.”

Clear sadness fills her body language. “It used to be.”

“I’m-”

She hits him with a pillow. “Don’t apologise. You used to see me as more than a Princess.”

“I’m always going to see you as more than your title, Shuri.”

Grabbing the remote, she asks, “Do you have anything interesting recorded?”

“Probably not.”

…

When Ayo gets back, they move his recliner to his bedroom, and she takes it as he and Shuri sit on the bed.

“You’ll enjoy this documentary, Ross,” Shuri promises, and soon, incredibly realistic holographic images fill the room.

…

He wakes up, and _I’m an idiot_ , goes through his head.

The documentary had been great right up until a segment on the evolutionary discussion of rhinos had come into play.

On the positive side, at least, he hadn’t fallen asleep next to a half-dressed underage girl this time.

Sighing, he sits up. The lights are out, and someone had taken the leftover containers and any food out of the room. Looking over, he can vaguely make out Ayo sleeping in the chair.

Getting out of bed, he adjusts the sheets over Shuri before going to the couch.

…

For the rest of the week, Shuri and Ayo stay, and having learned to have Shuri fast-forward whenever anything involving rhinos is mentioned, he sleeps on the couch every night.

On the day he’s scheduled to fly back to Wakanda with them, Director Hunt asks, “Why has Queen Shuri been staying at your apartment, Special Agent Ross?”

“I can honestly say I don’t know, ma’am. Queen Shuri can be somewhat eccentric.”

Director Hunt studies him, and seeing the direction her thoughts are going, he adds, “She and one of her Dora Milaje, Ayo, have been sleeping in my bed, and I’ve been sleeping on the couch, ma’am. I knew Shuri when she was sixteen, but more than that, I wouldn’t jeopardise our nation and my job by getting involved with or making inappropriate advances towards a foreign leader.”

She sighs. “Good. I had to make sure. Have a safe trip.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

…

When they land in Wakanda, Shuri suggests, “Why don’t you let Agent Grant do some exploring while you and I talk?”

Dylan looks at him, and he nods.

One of the women who was waiting to greet Shuri says, “We’ll show you around, Agent Grant, and perhaps, you can explain why you Americans are so interested in horses when you have access to rhinos.”

On second thought, he might have just sent a woefully unprepared agent into the metaphorical slaughter.

The room clears.

“Could I ask you a favour?”

“Of course. I can’t promise I’ll do it, but you can always ask.”

“You weren’t much older than my brother.” A holographic ball appears, and she begins manipulating it with her hands. “You’ve been in your country’s armed forces, and now, you’re in intelligence. For all you strive to be apolitical, you understand how politics work in many places in the world better than I do.”

Making the ball disappear, she looks at him, and it’s so close to how she looked when he first saw her after they believed Killmonger had killed T’Challa that his stomach twists.

“If you can, I’d appreciate advice. I wasn’t meant to be Queen. I’m fortunate to have Nakia and others like her, but a friendly outsider’s perspective might be even more helpful.”

“Let’s sit down,” he suggests.

…

Shuri nods. “Thank you.”

He hesitates. “Whether you were meant to be Queen or not, I mean it: You are doing a good job. T’Challa was always proud of you, but he’d be proud of you now. You were an amazing girl, and you’ve become a strong, powerful woman. I’m just sorry that couldn’t have happened differently.”

A warm smile crosses her face, and for the first time in a long time, he sees her eyes are truly sparkling. “I bet you say that to all the girls who fix your severed spine.”

Laughing, he says, “Guilty. You caught me on that.”

Squeezing his hand, she stands up. “I imagine your new agent has seen enough of Wakanda to be suitably awestruck. I’ll call them back.”

When Dylan and the others return, a woman is carrying a baby, and Shuri immediately hurries over. “How’s my N’Yami?”

One look at the baby has him looking over at Okoye. “You had a baby? Congratulations. Sorry, I don’t know if N’Yami is a boy or girl name. Which is it?”

Giving him a look he’s not sure how to interpret, Okoye responds, “N’Yami is a gender-neutral name, but she’s my daughter. Thank you. How did you know she’s mine?”

This strikes him as an absolutely ridiculous question, but he knows better than to express it. Aside from the beautiful head of hair and chubby baby body, N’Yami is the striking image of her mother.

“She looks just like you.”

Suddenly realising he might have just caused grief, he feels a pang of guilt. There’s a possibility no one wanted an American intelligence operative to know the leader of the Queen’s Dora Milaje has a baby, and he just carelessly destroyed this.

Shuri laughs. “Told you.” Bouncing the baby, she adds, “We’ve all told her, but she insists N’Yami takes after W’Kabi’s mother.”

She shakes her head. “No, my beautiful goddaughter looks nothing like that hag. And gods preserve her, you’ll never have to deal with such a grandmother. No, you have me instead. When you outgrow your nursery, I’m going to help you decorate your own bedroom, and I’ll be the first one you watch Star Wars and Star Trek with.”

“I liked-” Okoye starts.

“You were the only one,” Shuri tartly replies, and he gets the feeling everyone nodding is less them simply agreeing with their Queen and more an expression of their genuine feelings.

“Regardless, my daughter is an excellent judge of character,” Okoye declares. “Agent Ross, would you like to hold her?”

“That’d be wonderful. Thank you.”

When Shuri hands her to him, he finds himself looking down into clear, warm brown eyes. “Hey, sweetheart. I’m Everett Ross.” Adjusting her, he notes, “You’re just as strong as your mommy and as beautiful as your godmother. I’ll bet you have a combination of their intelligence, too.”

He takes her laugh as agreement.

“Yes. As lucky as you are to have them, they’re so lucky to have such a sweet, beautiful, strong little girl. Do me a favour, okay? Try to keep your good heart as you grow, alright? Unfortunately, some people become hard and mean when they stop being babies. It’s not always their fault, but it’s always sad.”

She babbles, and he likes to imagine it’s a promise. He knows, no matter how much worse the world gets, as long as she has Okoye, Shuri, and other Wakandans who love her, she’ll be okay.

“Maybe, someday, your godmother will tell you the story of how I helped save this wonderful country of yours and how, in the process, she helped save mine.” He looks up. “I think she’s getting sleepy.”

Handing her spear to another woman, Okoye comes over. “She likes to nurse as she falls asleep.”

“There you go, little N’Yami, back to your mommy,” he says. “It was a pleasure getting to meet you.”

After Okoye has left, one of the women comes up to speak to Shuri in Xhosa, and from what he can piece together, she’s under the impression Dylan can and will be doing something to make the conditions for rhinos in American zoos more humane. She wants to send DVDs to further help him do this.

He looks at Dylan, and shifting, Dylan refuses to make eye contact.

“Of course,” Shuri says. “Agent Ross, A’di would like to give Agent Dylan a gift. Some DVDs.”

“I’m sure that will be fine. We’ll need to have those examined when we get back to America before he can take them home, but otherwise, there shouldn’t be any reason for anyone to object.”

“Thank you, ma’am,” Dylan says.

Handing the DVDs to Dylan, A’di and another woman acting as translator talk for a moment.

Smiling, Shuri comes over, and offering her hand, she says, “Ross.”

“Shuri.” Shaking it, he kisses her cheek. “Take care of yourself and that sweet baby.”

“I will. You take care of yourself, as well.”

…

Once the plane has left Wakandan airspace, he says, “Tell me you made no promises to that woman, that foreign woman who might be serving a foreign government.”

“I- I, um, said I’d talk to the zookeeper when I took my brother to the San Francisco zoo for his birthday and maybe see if he or she would accept the DVDs and some other literature.”

“Is that all?”

“Yes, sir. I think she expects that to be enough to improve the status of all rhinos in America, but I never made any promises beyond that.”

“Be more careful in the future, agent.”

Then, unable to repress it, he chuckles.

It’s not as if he himself spent almost thirty minutes giving advice to a foreign leader, after all.

He’ll give Dylan this: At least, Dylan found something relatively neutral to connect over.

He and Shuri share a bond forged by a dedication to saving both their countries and grief, and the same determination to stop Killmonger might one day translate into them standing on different sides as America and Wakanda fight. Grief will have to be set aside.

A concern for the humane treatment of animals, it wouldn’t matter, either, but there’s less baggage inherent in the bond itself.

“Is it okay if I start watching them, sir?”

“Yeah, go ahead.”

…

“Sir,” he feels gentle shaking, “we’re here.”

Waking, his hand immediately goes to his face, and thankfully, there’s no drool. “I’m getting old,” he groans.

Smiling, Dylan shakes his head. “I don’t think so, sir. I imagine only people extremely interested in rhino anatomy could get through without, at the very least, constantly zoning out.”

“Thank you, Agent Grant.”

…

A few days after Shuri goes home, he’s cleaning his apartment when he comes across his safe.

It has a tiny pink sticker dot on it.

On the one hand, he didn’t have anything that could jeopardise the national security or put him at risk for identity theft in it, and he doubts Shuri would do anything to the few pictures and his grandfather’s wedding band inside.

On the other hand, if she broke into his safe-

He’s not exactly surprised to find the gun and bullets are gone.

Muttering an expletive, he sits down, and going through, he finds a receipt from a Turn-In Program and $200, a bead, and an unfamiliar ring with a Xhosa inscription carved into it.

Picking up the bead, he almost drops it when a holographic scene fills the air.

“Hold this,” Princess Shuri directs him, and when he catches the object she tosses, he’s flung into the window.

“Shuri! I- Ow, I think-” He starts rapidly shooting up to the ceiling.

“Ay, what are you doing? Get down! Stop destroying my lab!”

“I don’t-”

“Did you push the green button? Push the red one!”

He crashes into the floor.

“Why would you push the green button? I know that green means go, red means stop, and yellow means halt and yield in America,” she scolds as she grabs it from his hands. “Do you?”

“I didn’t- You didn’t tell me anything, you just tossed it to me.”

The footage fades on her disapproving scowl.

Then, he watches as he enters the holographic ship and stops the weapons from leaving Wakanda.

Finally, Queen Shuri appears. Waving, she says, “Hello, Ross. I’m assuming you’ve found this after I’ve already left.”

She sighs. “Since our conversation about your niece and my goddaughter, I’ve been thinking about my goddaughter. I wish I’d asked you what your niece’s name was, if you had any pictures. But mostly, I’ve been thinking about what I want to tell my goddaughter about people in my life and hers.”

“Someday, I want her to laugh at the clueless coloniser almost destroying my lab, because, you thought it would be a good idea to push a green button on something you didn’t even know what was.”

“I didn’t intentionally push anything,” he protests. “You threw it, and I caught it.”

“Then, once it’s established you’re someone to be laughed at, I plan to tell her about you helping stop Killmonger, about your friendship with T’Challa, about you fearlessly taking a bullet for Nakia. You’re a good man, Ross, and I hope that someday, you can meet my goddaughter in person.”

“However, if you die a certain way, I can’t have my precious goddaughter laughing at your memory. It wouldn’t be right. Do you understand how much I want to make sure her life is filled with laughter?”

“You have my email and Skype address. You’ve more than served your country and helped numerous people. Please, as a friend, I’m asking that you get help if you need it. Die of old age, die from slipping on a bar of soap in the shower, die on a mission, but please, let yourself be someone she can laugh at the same way I have. Don’t be a sad story of a great man I tell with a frown.”

She waves, and the hologram disappears.

Sighing, he grabs his laptop, and holding the ring up, he types the letters into a search engine.

_Beloved friend of the crown, Bast be with you evermore._

Seeing it should fit on his right pointer finger, he slides it on, and he finds it fits perfectly.

Bringing up his email, he sends the message:

_Shuri,_

_Thank you for the ring. I’m glad I got to meet N’Yami. I hope I’ll get to see her again someday. I think, when she’s old enough, she deserves to know how much of a troll her godmother can be._

_Speaking of which, I didn’t intentionally press the green button. You threw something at me, told me to catch, and I only just managed to. You’re far more guilty of lax lab safety than I was._

_Best regards,_

_Everett Ross_

**Author's Note:**

> Author’s Notes: Just to be clear, Ross had two guns. One is his assigned weapon, and he properly stores it in a lockbox when off-duty. The other was unlicensed and unregistered, and he kept it unloaded in a safe. 
> 
> Shuri didn’t do anything to his assigned weapon. He still has it, and it’s untampered with. She did anonymously turn the unlicensed one and its bullets into a government program that buys firearms from citizens, and she left the receipt to show this and the money that the program paid.
> 
> As for the morality of her actions and him having it in the first place, I leave those judgements to the readers.


End file.
